Main Street in Babylon Village, New York. Photo by Jaclyn Vernace / Shutterstock.com.
Long before the Town of Babylon became one of the most heavily populated communities in Suffolk County, much of this stretch of Long Island’s South Shore was farmland, woods, bays, and scattered settlements that were still part of the much larger Town of Huntington. The name Babylon dates to 1803, when Nathaniel Conklin moved his family from Dix Hills to the largely undeveloped area then known as Huntington South. According to Town history, Conklin’s mother, Phebe, was less than pleased to discover that their new home stood beside a tavern and compared the place to the biblical Babylon. Nathaniel embraced the name, calling his home “New Babylon.” The name stuck, and in 1830 the federal government officially changed the local post office name from Huntington South to Babylon.
The modern Town of Babylon was born on March 13, 1872, when the New York State Legislature approved the division of the Town of Huntington following a local referendum. The new town took its name from the growing South Shore community of Babylon. Rail service had already begun transforming the area, reaching Deer Park in 1842 and Babylon Village in 1867. Over the decades that followed, the Town continued to develop around its railroad stations, waterfront communities, farms, and growing villages. Babylon Village incorporated in 1893, Amityville in 1894, and Lindenhurst in 1923. After World War II, the arrival of thousands of families from New York City and the construction of new homes, roads, schools, and shopping districts dramatically changed the Town again, helping turn it into one of the defining suburban communities of postwar Long Island.
Today, the Town of Babylon stretches across a remarkable collection of villages and hamlets, including Amityville, Babylon, Lindenhurst, Copiague, Deer Park, North Babylon, West Babylon, and Wyandanch. Those communities have produced and been home to an equally remarkable collection of musicians, actors, athletes, comedians, journalists, broadcasters, filmmakers, and public figures. For this list, “from the Town of Babylon” means a documented connection through birth, upbringing, schooling, or substantial residence within one of the communities that make up the Town. Here are 25 famous people whose lives are connected to the Town of Babylon, New York.
1. Pat Benatar (Lindenhurst)
Before she became a four-time Grammy Award-winning rock star with hits including “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” and “We Belong,” Pat Benatar grew up in Lindenhurst. Born Patricia Andrzejewski in Brooklyn, she was raised on Long Island and developed her singing voice during her years in Lindenhurst before eventually launching one of the defining rock careers of the 1980s.
2. Bob Keeshan (Babylon Village)
Bob Keeshan became one of the most beloved figures in the history of children’s television as the creator and star of Captain Kangaroo. Keeshan was not born in Babylon, but he became a longtime Babylon Village resident, living with his family on Melbury Road from 1958 to 1990 while commuting into New York City for his television career. Around Babylon, the nationally famous Captain Kangaroo was also a husband, father, sailor, gardener, and active member of the community.
3. Rakim (Wyandanch)
Born William Michael Griffin Jr., Rakim grew up in Wyandanch and became one of the most influential MCs in hip-hop history. As one half of Eric B. & Rakim, he helped transform rap lyricism through complex internal rhymes, intricate phrasing, and a controlled delivery that influenced generations of artists. The Town of Babylon itself recognizes Wyandanch as the community where Rakim grew up.
4. Dan Lauria (Lindenhurst)
Actor Dan Lauria was born in Brooklyn but spent his formative years in Lindenhurst, where he graduated from Lindenhurst High School in 1965 and played varsity football. He later became best known to television audiences as Jack Arnold, Kevin Arnold’s stern but loving father on The Wonder Years. Lauria also served as a U.S. Marine Corps officer before building his long career in television, film, and theater.
5. Edie Falco (North Babylon)
Edie Falco was born in Brooklyn and spent part of her childhood in North Babylon as her family moved through several Long Island communities. She eventually became one of television’s most acclaimed actresses, winning widespread recognition as Carmela Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos and later starring as Jackie Peyton on Nurse Jackie. Her North Babylon years were part of a Long Island childhood that helped shape the New York performer she became.
6. Rodney Dangerfield (Babylon Village)
Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen, is often incorrectly listed as having been born in Deer Park. Research by the Town of Babylon Historian using property deeds and municipal birth records established that Dangerfield was actually born at 44 Railroad Avenue in Babylon Village in 1921. He later became one of America’s most recognizable stand-up comedians, building an entire comic persona around the immortal complaint that he got “no respect.”
7. Geraldo Rivera (West Babylon)
Journalist and television personality Geraldo Rivera was born in New York City and grew up in Brooklyn and West Babylon. He attended West Babylon High School before beginning a career that would take him from investigative television journalism to talk shows, news commentary, and decades of national broadcasting. Whatever viewers thought of his often controversial television persona, Rivera became one of the most recognizable media figures of his generation.
8. Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer (Amityville)
Kelvin Mercer, better known as Posdnuos, is a founding member of De La Soul, the groundbreaking hip-hop group formed around the members’ Amityville school years. De La Soul’s playful intelligence, inventive sampling, and refusal to follow the dominant rap formulas of the late 1980s made the group one of the most important acts to emerge from Long Island’s hip-hop scene.
9. David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur (Amityville)
David Jolicoeur, known as Trugoy the Dove and later simply Dave, was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island in the Amityville area. As a founding member of De La Soul, he helped create the group’s landmark 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, and remained central to its distinctive sound and personality for decades. Jolicoeur died in 2023 at the age of 54.
10. Vincent “Maseo” Mason (Amityville)
Vincent Mason, known professionally as Maseo, completed the classic De La Soul trio. The group’s roots in Amityville and its high school years were fundamental to its formation. As De La Soul’s DJ and a key creative contributor, Maseo helped build a catalog that gave Long Island an enduring place in hip-hop history.
11. Butterfly McQueen (Babylon Village)
Thelma “Butterfly” McQueen, remembered by generations of moviegoers for her performance as Prissy in Gone with the Wind, lived in Babylon Village. Her career included film, stage, television, and radio work, and her connection to Babylon is recognized by the Village itself among the notable people who have lived there.
12. Alec Baldwin (Amityville)
Alec Baldwin is most closely associated with neighboring Massapequa, where he grew up with his famous acting brothers, but he was born in Amityville in 1958. Baldwin went on to a long career in film, television, and theater, including Beetlejuice, The Hunt for Red October, The Cooler, and his Emmy-winning role as Jack Donaghy on NBC’s 30 Rock.
13. Donnie McClurkin (Copiague)
Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and pastor Donnie McClurkin was born in Copiague in 1959. He attended Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School and sang in local church choirs before developing the musical ministry that brought him international recognition. His career has included hit gospel recordings, radio, television, books, and decades of church leadership.
14. Hal Hartley (Lindenhurst)
Filmmaker Hal Hartley was raised in the working-class community of Lindenhurst. After studying filmmaking at SUNY Purchase, he emerged as an important figure in American independent cinema through films including The Unbelievable Truth, Trust, Simple Men, and Henry Fool. His first three feature films were set on Long Island, making his hometown roots an important part of his early artistic identity.
15. Jack Barry (Lindenhurst)
Game-show host and television producer Jack Barry was born and raised in Lindenhurst. He became one of the major figures of early television game shows, hosting programs including Twenty-One, Tic-Tac-Dough, and The Joker’s Wild. His career was severely damaged by the quiz-show scandals of the 1950s, but he eventually returned to television and again became a successful host and producer.
16. Robert Moses (Babylon Village)
Few people had a greater impact on the physical shape of 20th-century New York than Robert Moses. The powerful public official and master builder behind highways, bridges, parks, beaches, and enormous public works projects lived in Babylon Village. His legacy remains fiercely debated, but his influence on Long Island and New York City is impossible to separate from the modern history of the region.
17. Danny Green (North Babylon)
NBA player Danny Green was born in North Babylon and attended North Babylon High School as a freshman before continuing his basketball career at St. Mary’s High School. He later played at the University of North Carolina and became a three-time NBA champion, winning titles with the San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, and Los Angeles Lakers.
18. Joe Dallesandro (North Babylon)
Joe Dallesandro became one of the best-known male faces of Andy Warhol’s underground film world during the late 1960s and 1970s. Born in Florida, Dallesandro spent part of his childhood in North Babylon after being placed with a foster family. He later appeared in Warhol-associated films including Flesh, Trash, and Heat, becoming an enduring counterculture figure.
19. Kathleen Herles (Deer Park)
Kathleen Herles grew up in Deer Park and became the original voice of Dora on Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer. She began voicing the character as a child and remained identified with Dora through much of her youth. Years later, she returned to the franchise in a different role, voicing Dora’s mother in the newer animated series Dora.
20. Dan Deacon (West Babylon)
Electronic musician and composer Dan Deacon grew up on Long Island and graduated from Babylon High School in 1999. After studying electro-acoustic and computer music at SUNY Purchase, he developed a reputation for wildly interactive live performances and experimental electronic recordings. His career has made him one of the more distinctive artists to emerge from the Town of Babylon’s music scene.
21. Harold Dieterle (West Babylon)
Chef Harold Dieterle graduated from West Babylon High School in 1995 before attending the Culinary Institute of America. He gained national fame in 2006 when he won the first season of Bravo’s Top Chef. Dieterle later opened acclaimed restaurants in New York City and built a career as a chef, restaurateur, and author.
22. Linda Yaccarino (Deer Park)
Media and technology executive Linda Yaccarino grew up in Deer Park and graduated from Deer Park High School. After a long career in advertising and media, including more than a decade at NBCUniversal, she served as CEO of X from 2023 to 2025. In 2025, she became CEO of the digital health company eMed Population Health.
23. Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (Wyandanch)
Actor Daryl “Chill” Mitchell grew up in Wyandanch, a connection the Town of Babylon commemorates on the community’s welcome sign. After beginning his career in music, Mitchell moved into acting and became known for roles in Galaxy Quest, The John Larroquette Show, and NCIS: New Orleans. He continued acting after a 2001 motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
24. Kene Holliday (Copiague)
Actor Kene Holliday grew up in Copiague and graduated from Copiague High School in 1967, where he was a standout track athlete. He became best known to television audiences as private investigator Tyler Hudson on the long-running legal drama Matlock, while also building a career in theater, film, and television.
25. Dan Barry (Deer Park)
Journalist and author Dan Barry was born in Queens and raised in Deer Park. He went on to become a longtime reporter and columnist for The New York Times, writing extensively about New York and communities across the United States. Earlier in his career, Barry was part of the Providence Journal-Bulletin reporting team that won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, and he later became a Pulitzer finalist for his own feature writing.
Read more about notable Long Islanders in our guides to 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From the Town of Brookhaven, New York, 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From the Town of Huntington, New York, 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From the Town of Smithtown, New York, and 25 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were From Suffolk County, New York.
